The development of a novel shade selection program for fixed shade translucent dental materials

Area of Science:

• Dental Materials Science
• Color Science in Dentistry
• Optical Properties of Restorative Materials

Background:

• Accurate shade selection is crucial for esthetic dental restorations.
• Current shade matching methods can be subjective and lead to variability.
• Objective, data-driven approaches are needed to improve shade selection accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a shade selection program for dental composite resins.
• To predict the shade with the minimal CIEDE2000 color difference.
• To account for backing and target shades in the prediction algorithm.

Main Methods:

• Developed a shade selection program using SAS 9.3.
• Incorporated Kubelka-Munk layering data for composite resins (Herculite Ultra, Estelite Omega).
• Simulated scenarios with specific backing (Shade B) and target (Shade T) shades under D65 illuminant, using 1.9mm layer thickness.

Main Results:

• The program systematically suggested shades with zero CIEDE2000 color difference for identical target and backing shades.
• Most scenarios yielded clinically acceptable matches (below acceptability threshold).
• Many scenarios achieved high accuracy (below perceptibility threshold), with minimal variability between reflectance and RGB regression data.

Conclusions:

• The developed shade selection program is a viable tool for clinical use.
• It has the potential to reduce observer variability in shade selection.
• The program can enhance patient satisfaction through improved color matching of dental restorations.